Book Review - Midnight Flower: An Anthology of Contemporary Christian Poems

Midnight Flower: An Anthology of Contemporary Christian Poems, is Shirley Mandel's first collection of poetry. Mandel's struggles to overcome a mental disability and life circumstances are beautifully, humorously, wittingly, and quite significantly evident on each page of the slim 64 page book. In simple, poignant, down-to-earth terms, Mandel confronts the realism of every day problems, thoughts, and wonderings through the perspective of someone with first hand knowledge of how it feels to be different if not unfairly cast out in today's society.

Mandel's refuge in Christ is prominently displayed throughout the collection and is intuitively found on the cover design, which is a photograph of an old slightly rusted watering can, alone, in the middle of an array of brightly colored flowers. The cover design seems to echo the sentiments of the poem Containers, as no matter what type of container a person uses to catch the rain of Jesus, Mandel's message encourages the reader to use something. In the hustle and bustle of today's world, too many times we seek out the lovely flowers without giving a passing glance to the rusted watering cans that are wonderfully special and truly remarkable.

Mandel's collection is definitely a humbling read. Mandel's casual language creates moving imagery in an honest, sincere, fun, and at times quirky fashion as she finds, confronts, and talks to God. Mandel describes and discovers Christian symbolism and faith in both ordinary and extraordinary places and objects.